Unidentical twins

In Turin two identical spaces, one on top of the other, give rise to two very different flats. Both projects are designed by Blaarchitettura

The architecture studio Blaarchitettura worked on two twin units with identical layouts, on the fifth and sixth floors of a building in Turin that dates from the 1950s and sits on the banks of the Po, but with completely different results. The spaces in the two flats (Portland and Morrissey, 85 square metres each) are actually broken up in totally different ways: if in the first all the spaces are arranged around a concrete volume, in the second the available space is separated by dividers made of different materials.

In the Portland flat, on the fifth floor, everything revolves around the structure that encapsulates the bedroom. Elevated 10 centimetres above the floor of the rest of the home, the “concrete cave” covered in white resin isolates the sleeping area and delineates the remaining functions, without the addition of doors or walls. A large walk-in wardrobe is carved out of the back which, in contrast, is painted all over – floor, walls and wardrobe – in an anthracite grey, almost black, colour.

The flows and paths of Portland’s inhabitants are generated around the cast-in-situ concrete cube. (Photo Beppe Giardino)

On one of the short sides of the volume, the one where the concrete cube is missing a corner, an oak bookcase is anchored to the structure, with a niche for the television that defines this as the common area. On the long side of the volume, the one opposite the walk-in wardrobe, a round porthole window allows whomever is in the bedroom to look towards the kitchen, which is also done in an industrial style with a strong predominance of anthracite colours and oak wood. The bathroom, behind the kitchen, echoes these hues and tactility; the only element that moves away from these dark tones is the shower area, which is very large, and is coated in white resin and separated by an opalescent piece of glass that increases the amount of natural light in the room.

On the floor above, in the Morrissey flat, it is the partitions that serve as the generative element of the project. There are three main ones: a birch wall designed as a bookcase, which separates the common area and the sleeping area, an iron framework that serves as a visual filter between the kitchen and the living room and, finally, a floor-to-ceiling divider made of U-Glass (structural glass used in industry), which divides the bedroom in two, creating an ample space for the walk-in wardrobe.

The single living room-kitchen space of the Morrissey flat is broken up by an iron framework that serves as a filter. The kitchen island area is thus functionally independent and visually separate from the common area. (Photo Beppe Giardino)

Lavazza’s new headquarters confirms its long-standing ties with Turin....

6 November 2018

Founded in 1961 by Piera Peroni Abitare magazine has crossed the history of costume, architecture and design, international, following in its pages the evolution of our ways of life and how we inhabit places